This week, Pervaiz Shallwani of the NY Chow Report, sidles up to the bar at 606 R&D, the restaurant opened recently on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights by City Bakery alums Ilene Rosen and Sarah Dima.

Prevaiz sets his sights on the Romanian Bloody Mary, Ilene’s own version of the brunch classic that’s inspired by borscht, the traditional Eastern European beet soup.

Rosen begins her concoction by juicing raw beets, onions and celery. To the juice she adds grated horseradish, horseradish juice, and olive oil. That’s poured over chilled vodka, and garnished with a scallion stalk, a red Swiss chard stem, a dollop of sour cream, a pinch of dill, and skewered slice of lemon and half a hard-boiled egg.

In this case, dipping an egg in your cocktail is advised, and Pervaiz recommends pairing the Romanian Bloody with the ‘Pig and Egg’ – a sandwich featuring horseradish with thin slices red onion and thick slices of bacon.